Smith+Nephew signs exclusive distribution agreement to provide unique NAVBIT SPRINT™ solution in Australia
Smith+Nephew (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN), the global medical technology company, announced an agreement with NAVBIT to exclusively distribute the NAVBIT SPRINT™ in Australia during the recent Australian Orthopedics Association COE Meeting in Sydney. A single-use, sterile navigation system with everything provided in a small carton, NAVBIT SPRINT™ is designed to suit busy surgeons – and its convenient product format makes it extremely practical and cost efficient for hospitals and day surgery environments. This exclusive distribution builds upon the agreement Smith+Nephew announced for Japan in April 2023.
Lynette Walter, NAVBIT’s CEO said, “We are absolutely delighted to expand our partnership with Smith+Nephew into the Australian market. We are committed to supporting and serving our great Australian surgeons with smart, useful technologies – and we look forward to complementing the Smith+Nephew implant range with this very neat navigation technology.”
From left: Ms Ameneh Sadeghpour (COO, Navbit), Mr Mayank Shandil (SVP, Global Orthopaedics Marketing, S+N)
Prof. Bill Walter (Founder, Navbit), Mr Kenneth Garcia (SVP & GM, International Markets Orthopaedics, S+N),
Ms Lynette Walter (CEO, Navbit), Mr Damon Mogridge (Sr. BU Director, ANZ Orthopaedics, S+N)
“We are seeing the positive impact that NAVBIT SPRINT™ offers our customers in Japan and look to experience the same results in the Australian market” noted Kenneth Garcia, Senior Vice President and General Manager, International for Smith+Nephew. “Many customers are seeking innovative solutions for THA planning and execution and NAVBIT will help us serve that specific market segment.”
Post-operative dislocation remains the second most common reason for revision of a total hip replacement in registries around the world1-5 as data suggests only 49% of acetabular cups are accurately aligned when using manual instrumentation.6 Simran Sabharwal, Vice President Global Hip Marketing for Smith+Nephew explained that, “NAVBIT SPRINT offers an innovative enabling technology solution that has been proven to address inaccuracies in cup placement, thereby reducing the risk of dislocation while providing efficiencies in the episode of care.”
“In the past, surgery was more art than science. Today we have higher expectations around the accuracy and precision of our surgery,” said Professor Bill Walter, Orthopaedic Surgeon and Founder of NAVBIT. “Outliers are becoming less acceptable to surgeons and to patients. Surgeons will have to answer the question: If there is a technology available that can make you more accurate, why are you not using it?”
NAVBIT SPRINT™ is available through Smith+Nephew in Japan and Australia and has two product variants: for supine patient position and for lateral patient position; making is suitable for a range of surgical approaches, including the direct anterior approach and the posterior approach.